Let me tell you about the fun time I spent battling drug cartels in downtown LA. Oh wait, that’s not what happened. That was another Call of Juarez. I remember now. Let me recount the time when my brother and I fought our way through the battle lines during the Civil War. Whoops, I’m sorry. Yet again I seem to be thinking of a different Call of Juarez. My mind is old and I can’t always keep my stories straight. What I want to tell you about is my time with Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, the latest Wild West first-person shooter from Techland.

This new digital download only Call of Juarez tells of the adventures of Silas Greaves, an old gunslinger bent on revenge for acts perpetrated upon him and his brothers forty years prior to the opening of the game. What separates Gunslinger from the rest of the large swath of FPSs currently available is the method in which the story is presented. Silas begins weaving a tale of his adventures in the Old West, offering his view of historical events as told from his perspective of being there. By this I mean Silas revisits several pivotal moments in Wild West history that involve his dealings with well known figures such as Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Butch Cassidy and many other notorious outlaws.

What is so magical about these tales is the fact that Silas is recounting his adventures in the company of others who often question the claims he makes. At times these mild objections to the truth revise the narrative and directly alter what is taking place in the world as you are playing. Sometimes these objections benefit Silas during gunplay, while other times the odds stack against you in a much greater manner. The way the narrative impacts gamplay isn’t always done out of questioning the truth though. At one point one of the members that Silas is telling his story to begins to doze off, and while quietly stalking through a swamp, suddenly loud snoring can be heard. As a way to catch this napping listener, Silas injects a dozen or more Indians into his tale of battle. On the fly the game alters the environment and suddenly there are Indians shooting at you from all directions. Quickly the dozing member asks where the Indians came from and Silas replies that he just wanted to make sure everyone was paying attention.

Just as the narration is top notch, the gunplay feels very solid as well. Choosing between two types of handguns, rifles and shotguns, Silas makes his way through the world shooting enemies to build up a multiplier. The multiplier determines how many points are earned during each level, which in turn help to level Silas and earn additional skills that are spread across the three types of guns. Two additional mechanics come into play during each level. One is Silas’ Sense of Death, which slows down time so you can dodge a bullet which would otherwise end your life. The Sense of Death is a nice touch, but patience is required to determine which way to dodge the blast. Dodge too early and Silas may move directly into the bullet’s trajectory.

Another time-slowing mechanic also allows Silas to see all enemies in red (while the environment mutes to a sepia brown hue) and offers a chance to take out two, three, four or more in quick succession. Learning to adeptly manage this bullet time mechanic is necessary to survive many encounters as the sheer number of enemies thrown at Silas is clearly unbalanced against you, sometimes unfairly so.

The story of Gunslinger takes place across a wide selection of visually striking environments. Using the Chrome 5 engine, Techland has clearly put a lot of time into creating a world that doesn’t feel repetitive and offers plenty to explore beyond the linear path the game funnels players through. Off to the side there are plenty of little touches that could easily have been trimmed out to keep development time and costs down, but because they are included, the game world feels much more lived in and real. I bring this up because while Silas’ narrative may be questionable at times, hidden throughout each level are Nuggets of Truth that offer historically accurate descriptions of people and events mentioned within each level.

One criticism I have with the game is the fact that with or without utilizing the time-slowing mechanic, most enemies die in one shot. This fits for the period of time that the game is set in. Even minor gunshot wounds (in the leg, arm, foot, etc) could be potentially deadly. Yet magically every boss is nothing more than a bullet sponge.  Silas can take a few shots before dying, but even with repeated headshots, most boss encounters take four or five reloads to take down (even with emptying each bullet directly into said boss).

Upon finishing the game, a New Game Plus option unlocks which offers a higher level of difficulty while keeping previous skills unlocked. Additionally, Gunslinger comes with an Arcade mode which pits players against short timed sections of the story and tracks progress on leaderboards. The key to earning high scores in Arcade mode is obviously to keep moving to beat the time, but also to string together kills and maintain a high multiplier. This is a fun diversion, but I am truly humbled by the points I have been able to accrue compared to several folks on my friends list. My scores pale in comparison to pretty much everyone else, but I think that just goes to show how I prefer to play FPS games: I’m methodical and take my time (probably too much) in lining up shots. Still, the Arcade mode is a fun way to relive some of the game’s best moments in quick bursts.

Gun slinging duels, which cap off most chapters in the story mode, can also be accessed as a side mode from the main menu. A total of 15 duels are available in a ladder approach where progression is made to the next rung when a duel is won. Players only get 5 lives, so if an opponent wins a round, progress is halted until a duel is won or all lives have been lost. Dueling is a nice change of pace to the rest of the gunplay found in the game, where the right stick is used to narrow focus on the opponent and the left stick is used to move your drawing hand closer to the gun handle. Listening to the audio cues and pulling the trigger at the correct moment determines whether or not you draw and shoot honorably or not. The trick is to time pressing the “draw” button and then pressing it again before the opponent manages to fire their gun first. This is fun, but also frustrating if you have difficulty with the timing.

Call of Juarez: Gunslinger is a fun, fresh approach to a tired genre. Having an FPS set in an environment that isn’t a modern military or sci-fi setting is a welcomed change of scenery, and the humor and unreliable narration adds a level of unpredictability missing from many shooters these days. A shorter narrative that offers additional challenges with new game plus is great on its own, but having a leaderboard-driven arcade mode gives plenty of replay fun in lieu of having to deal with online multplayer drama.

Pros:
+ Fun gameplay driven by unique narration
+ Gorgeous Old West environments
+ Plenty of replay with Arcade, Duel and New Game +
+ Fantastic music

Cons:
– Enemy encounters can be brutally unfair without proper use of time slowing skills
– Duels can feel cheap and frustrating at times
– Most enemies die in one shot yet bosses take ten times as many shots
– Load times are a bit long (but only occur at the beginning of each level)

Game Info:
Platform: Reviewed on PS3 via PSN, also available for PC and XBLA
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Techland
Release Date: 5/22/2013
Genre: First-Person Shooter
ESRB Rating: Mature
Players: 1
Source: Review code provided by publisher

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Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood was vaguely announced last month, but today Ubisoft and Techland have unholstered their Wild West FPS prequel for real, releasing the first trailer and screenshots along with new details about the setting, “Dual Collaborative” gameplay, and multiplayer mode. In addition, a summertime ship date for PC, PS3 and Xbox 360 has been confirmed. Continue reading for all the latest info and media.

About Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood
Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood transports players from a ravaged Civil War-era Georgia to the Aztec ruins of Mexico. In the wildest West ever depicted, players can embody both McCall brothers in an intense storyline full of greed, lust and lawlessness that takes place during a legendary period of American history. Game features include:

–Become a Gunslinger – Harness a variety of weapons from various revolvers to heavy-caliber cannons and machine guns. Every accurate shot increases concentration, which allows players to unleash deadly shooting modes when outnumbered and even deadlier ones when the brothers work together.

–Dual Collaborative Gameplay – Players choose to embody Ray or Thomas, each with a distinctive gameplay style (close or long range), specific abilities (lasso, dynamite, etc.) and arsenal of deadly weapons (dual guns, long-range carbine, etc.). Take advantage of each of their strengths and join in the fiercest fights imaginable.

–Never Before Seen Western Experience – Experience the iconic settings full of outlaws – the West before it was tamed. The McCall brothers face a renegade Apache Chief, a greedy Mexican bandit, a vindictive Colonel, and others, all driven by greed with moral disregard. Enjoy a wide variety of situations, using horses, canoes and wagons to explore the vast natural landscapes of the fabled Wild West and its legendary period.

–Innovative Online Multiplayer – Developed in unison with the single player mode, multiplayer offers numerous modes and maps, resulting in endless hours of Wild West mayhem. Gunslingers, bandits and marshals struggle online for the bounty. Multiple characters are unlocked for team-based objective modes or the straightforward team death match. With a new Bounty system, players increase the bounty on their head with more kills. Get rid of the deadliest among you to increase your bank roll!

The two characters you’ll play, Billy Candle and Reverend Ray couldn’t be more polar opposites. Billy is a young buck who’s agile, good with a whip, bows and has the ability to sneak about and scale some fences. Ray, on the other hand, is a former outlaw turned white-haired firebrand preacher, but his violent past rolls up one day, forcing him to take up his old iron friends. His skills are primarily shooting anything that moves, punching anything else, putting out fires and kicking down doors. It’s Billy whom he’s chasing after the boy is seen running from his parent’s burning homestead. Ray thinks Billy killed his mother and step dad and like any good uncle (yup, the two are related), he decides to take matters into his own hands. Of course, Billy is very innocent, having made the unfortunate mistake of coming to visit his folks on a very, very bad day and getting caught up in the consequences.

You’ll initially start out as Billy through the game’s tutorial that takes you through his basic movements as the story’s first act unfolds. In the course of this first area, Billy learns sneaking skills, gets his first gun, shoots some bottles, then later an attacking wolf before heading into a small town where he loses his gun and has to secure another before escaping. After that, it’s some tricky whip lessons and a chase before you hop into the bible-belting boots of Reverend Ray. Ray’s portions play dynamically different than Billy’s, which as mentioned above, can take a little getting used to. Ray gets to dual wield pistols or carry a single rifle, blasting hot lead into bad men on a more regular basis that Billy does, so his sections will probably be the most appreciated initially by those that don’t quite appreciate subtlety. The game mixes in a few twists as both men get closer to the truth and you’ll certainly see just what the Call of Juarez means as the game heads down its bloody, well trod path. If you’re a sucker for a well-worn tale well told, you’ll really get into this one as soon as the opening sequence grabs you by the throat.

One nifty element to the shooting is that you’ll need to keep an eye on your guns, or more precisely, their condition over time. In addition to reloading constantly, the cheaper guns tend to overheat and explode after a certain amount of shooting. So when you see one or both pistol icons glowing red and/or that telltale smoke coming from your weapon, well, you’d better be near a dead man or a chest containing a replacement, that’s all I’ll say. This adds a nice bit of unpredictability to the game, particularly in some of the longer firefights when enemies are up on rooftops or far enough away that you’ll need to scour the surrounding area for hidden weapons to replace your busted popgun before moving on. Ray also carries a bible, and equipping it in either hand then pressing the appropriate trigger will have him growl out bible quotes that stop enemies in their tracks for a few seconds. Naturally, this allows the good Reverend enough time to christen them with a few well-placed shots to the head and body.

Speaking of well-placed shots, Ray has the talent to concentrate and draw his pistols, thus slowing down time while you use two onscreen targets to place your shots where you want to. Preferably, when those targets glow red as they line up with your enemies’ vitals… happiness is a warm gun, indeed. Then, you squeeze off a shot or three, time goes back to normal and your bullets find their mark. If you lined up correctly, expect a nicely bloody ballet as the bodies hit the floor. There’s a variation on this happy trigger action for boss fights that owes a bit to Rockstar’s Red Dead Revolver, but it works excellently nonetheless. Billy’s bow concentration works in pretty much the same way, so you’ll get to occasionally stick an arrow between the eyeballs of some sarsaparilla-sucking sap looking to ventilate you himself. Hell, the game is set in the Old West and mines most of its storyline from classic westerns, so it’s totally fine that you’re not hit over the head with ridiculously innovative game mechanics and a storyline that goes out of its way to present the past in a too modern light. It’s like putting laser guns in a World War II game – wile it might make for a ‘cooler’ game, it makes a boatload more sense to keep things as close to a particular genre as possible.

While Billy eventually gets more interesting weapons such as the aforementioned bow and whip, many of his objectives revolve around stealthily infiltrating or escaping areas often lousy with better-armed men than he. It’s definitely a nice twist from the straight up gunplay in Ray’s portions, although after some of the more hectic gunfights with Ray, your adrenaline might drop way off the map when you need to spend ten minutes or so sneaking around not shooting anything. Still, there are times in Billy’s story where a few quiet minutes of creeping around like an arthritic ninja suddenly turn to a ‘Holy Crap!’ moments of fear followed by some deft controller handling as you run for your virtual life away from too much lead in your diet. Unfortunately, using the whip to grab branches and swing across gaps is less exciting than it should be thanks to a surprising lack of momentum and having to guess when to jump. Granted, Billy can grab ledges to pull himself up, but until you figure out he can do this when completing a swing/jump move, you’ll fall to your death a few times too many.

The game makes up for moments like these with some absolutely great horseback riding sections for both characters. Just like real life, shooting from a moving horse is like hitting the broad side of a barn with a dead housefly and a rubber band. Still, once you learn to taper your speeding steed to a manageable trot or find enough space to stop and shoot, these sections become a lot more enjoyable. Speaking of enjoyable, if you’re a longtime western fan and not someone who goes into this game expecting Halo on horses, you’ll get a good laugh at the excellent, often outrageously hilarious dialog that approaches Deadwood territory. Granted, the game isn’t as cerebral as the late, lamented HBO series, but expect a few ear-burning cuss words and decidedly non-PC commentary throughout the 10 or so hour single-player campaign. If you’re easily offended, some kid who shouldn’t be playing M-rated games of hate sitting through the occasional stretch of intentionally long-winded exposition, you’ll want to go play something easier on the ears.

Techland has done a bang-up job graphically here, letting the 360 flex its muscles through some gorgeous environments that manage to be pretty huge and lush, even Oblivion-quality in spots. While some indoor areas can be a wee bit dark and some dull textures and clipping issues annoy here and there, the game really pulls you into its world right from the start. I loved the great outdoors with the waving foliage and virtual lakes good-looking enough to drink from, the rustic look to the towns as well as most of the character models, which have decent lip-synching and great death animations. Interestingly enough, despite all the bloodshed, the developer added a bit of morality to the game by not allowing you to shoot innocents at all, which is a fine way to keep the bullets flying where they should. Sometimes, the unarmed will make a frightened comment if you approach them with a drawn weapon and if you try to pull the trigger, you’ll hear your character say “No” or something similar. Menus are clean and easy to read, except if you’re running the game on a TV under 35 inches, in which case you’ll be busting out the reading glasses when you need to check your objectives. Sound design is great, with a top rate score, the aforementioned adult dialog and some stellar sound effects that really sell each gunfight.

Xbox Live multiplayer is fun, albeit mostly an Old West remixing of common FPS modes with some cool skins and seven game types. I loved the horseback-based Capture the Bag maps where sweeping vistas and blasting black-hatted baddies goes hand in hand, for the most part smoothly, but with a few technical blips here and there. The other modes are fun riffs of everything from Team Fortress to a bit of Counter-Strike and there are usually more than enough hardy souls playing online to keep things hopping should you decide to host or join a match. The main game has a bunch of achievements and unlockables that require a certain skill level and/or patience to acquire, which means replay value for those of you out there that are entertained the first time through. I had a good enough time with the game to play through twice and yup, I plan to again at some point (as soon as I get through the huge stack of games in my inbox… damn you 2007, the Year of Too Many Great Games).

Overall, Call of Juarez will really appeal to folks who love their westerns more than those who want every FPS to fit the mega-hit mold. Still, if you can quote lines from The Wild Bunch, Shane or The War Wagon and have a soft spot for the Duke and Clint Eastwood in your leathery heart, you’ll have an absolute blast playing as Billy and Reverend Ray. Recommended, but definitely NOT for the kids at all.